Why Central Garden & Pet (CENT) Stock Is Higher in Pre-Market Today

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of retailer, Central Garden & Pet Co. (CENT) are up 11.11% to $10.00 after private equity firm Harbinger Group (HRG) offered to acquire the company for $10 per share, or $1.1 billion including assumption of debt.

Harbinger, which is one of Central's largest shareholders, also offered to buy its pet business for $750 million.

On June 9, the private equity firm had sent a public letter to Central's board in which it requested a meeting and urged the company to consider selling itself to Harbinger.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates CENTRAL GARDEN & PET CO as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate CENTRAL GARDEN & PET CO (CENT) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed, some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, good cash flow from operations and increase in stock price during the past year. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity and poor profit margins."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

CENT's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 1.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 0.7%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.

Net operating cash flow has increased to -$90.05 million or 32.85% when compared to the same quarter last year. The firm also exceeded the industry average cash flow growth rate of 3.53%.

Compared to where it was a year ago today, the stock is now trading at a higher level, regardless of the company's weak earnings results. Despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock.

The company's current return on equity has slightly decreased from the same quarter one year prior. This implies a minor weakness in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Household Products industry and the overall market, CENTRAL GARDEN & PET CO's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

The gross profit margin for CENTRAL GARDEN & PET CO is currently lower than what is desirable, coming in at 31.26%. It has decreased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 4.16% trails that of the industry average.